Cristiano Ronaldo has ended his Portugal career with immediate effect, the 41-year-old football star said on social media on Thursday.
The forward walked out on the national team during the last international break after a row with coach Jorge Jesus over playing time.
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He was given a 30-day ban by the Portuguese Football Federation but had been expected to return to the fold for Nations League matches in November.
However, he has now decided to call time on an international career which has heralded a men’s record 146 goals and a record 234 caps. He first played for the Portugal senior team as an 18-year-old in 2003.
“To the Portuguese people, the day has come for me to hand back the number seven shirt of our national team,” he said in a five-minute video which included clips from across his international career.
“I never felt it belonged to me alone, but for 23 years I had the honour and the responsibility of wearing it, defending it and carrying it with me into stadiums all around the world.”
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Ronaldo will still continue to play for Saudi club side Al Nassr as he chases a world record 1,000 career goals, which he could achieve this season. He had previously indicated he could retire completely next year.
The Portuguese federation paid tribute to Ronaldo, a Euro 2016 winner and twice Nations League champion.
“The Portuguese Football Federation expresses its deepest and most enduring gratitude to its eternal captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, who today announced his permanent retirement from the national team,” a statement said.
“It is with a sense of deep gratitude and immense admiration that the Portuguese Football Federation publicly honours and thanks Cristiano Ronaldo for his absolutely extraordinary career in the service of our country.”
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A farewell match where he plays seems unlikely given the recent bad blood between the star and coach, but the federation said it was trying to organize a tribute.
“The Portuguese Football Federation refuses to let this farewell take place without paying him the tribute he deserves,” it added.
“It is our firm and heartfelt desire to organize, plan, participate, and actively collaborate in what will always be a tribute worthy of Cristiano Ronaldo’s immense career – one in which the fans and the country can once again applaud and celebrate the player who has given us so much.”
Ronaldo missed out on World Cup glory, unlike his great rival Lionel Messi of Argentina, but will go down in the history books as one of the greatest international footballers of all time.
